


The Fires That Remain

by SpencerMalloy



Series: Short Solangelo one-shots (under 2000 words) [5]
Category: Percy Jackson and the Olympians & Related Fandoms - All Media Types
Genre: Angst, Canon Divergence, Drabble, Hurt/Comfort, I love Rick but I wish he would talk about the issues these kids probably have, M/M, PTSD, So yeah here's some good old ptsd, Yeah Nico was stuck in Tartarus too and nobody ever talks about it, after all he's done to them, solangelo
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-08-19
Updated: 2018-08-19
Packaged: 2019-06-29 19:24:15
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 759
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15735822
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SpencerMalloy/pseuds/SpencerMalloy
Summary: The lava wall at Camp Half-blood is too reminiscent of the river of fire in Tartarus.





	The Fires That Remain

                It was Nico’s idea to train near the lava wall. Mid October and camp was mostly empty, the cold winds blowing through relentlessly. With nothing else to do after lunch, brushing up on sword play was as good an option as any, and if they did it near the lava wall then they wouldn’t even need to wear their jackets.

                Will wasn’t the best with a sword, but he could keep up with the best of them. And Nico was the best of them. Being with someone was just like that, he guessed. Nico knew how to set a bone; Will knew Zeus’ bolt had 600 attack damage in Mythomagic. It was impossible to spend that much time with someone without inadvertently absorbing parts of them. Still, Will preferred to use wooden training swords when they sparred, just in case. It also allowed him to—

                “Ow!” Nico yelped when Will smacked the flat side of his sword against his calf.

                Will grinned at him, jumping back and blocking the blunt tip of Nico’s sword fro, poking him in the chest.

                “Oh, sorry, did that hurt?” He teased.

                Nico could demolish him if he really wanted to. Disarm him, take out his vitals with his own sword. If he wanted to. But they had a game of Monopoly planned for later that night that Nico probably wanted him alive for.

                Will matched him blow for blow until Nico whacked him in the arm. It stung but it wouldn’t bruise—

                “Dude!” His sword sat on the ground. Nico straightened up, one arm behind his back and sword right under Will’s chin.

                “Do you yield?”

                Okay, so maybe Will was into guys who could kick his ass.

                “Parlay?”

                Nico rolled his eyes. “We’re not on a pirate ship—hey!”

                Will caught the ‘blade’ of his boyfriend’s sword between his forearms and twisted, pulling the handle from Nico’s grip and absolutely ruining their balance. Nico toppled on top of him.

                For a moment it was good. It was fine. It was fun, even. Their chests bumped as they laughed, legs slotted together, Will’s arms reaching up to wrap around Nico’s neck. And then Nico stopped. His breathing went rigid and his eyes were focused on the lava wall behind them, which Will realized was far too close for comfort.

                “Hey, sunshine, what’s up?” He asked, his hand trailing from the back of his neck to his cheek. “Are you okay? What’s wrong?”

                Nico’s nails dug into the dirt by his head and he swallowed. His voice was torn when he finally managed to whisper, “Phlegethon.”

                Oh. Oh gods.

                “No, Nico,” he said. “It’s not the Phlegethon. I promise—“

                “You’re not supposed to be here.” The words that tumbled out of his mouth were barely coherent. “How did you get down here? Will, I never wanted this for you, you have to get home—“

                Will sat up and pulled Nico into his lap. Nico’s face was buried in his shirt and he could feel the wet spots soaking through the fabric. Crying. He rocked them both back and forth, rubbing his boyfriend’s back as gently as possible.

                “We are home. You’re not in Tartarus, neither of us are,” he promised. “You’re never going back there again.” Not while Will was still breathing he wasn’t.

                He wasn’t sure how long it took for Nico to come back this time, but it was faster than last time. The salty tears had made his whole face puffy and red. The crying was new, but it was much more manageable than the thrashing; the going after kids in capture the flag like they were real monsters instead of friends.  

                He shifted so they weren’t facing the wall anymore and cupped Nico’s face in his hands. “I think it’s time we start that game of Monopoly.”

                Nico brushed their lips together for just a moment before pulling away. He stood up and gathered their swords, trying to regain composure. He didn’t like the flashback but that didn’t stop them from happening. All Will could do was be there for him when they did. No matter how much Nico pretended he’d never gone to Tartarus, that didn’t change the permanent effects the place had on him.

                His eyes looked darker than they had before. “Yeah…” he said.  “Yeah that’s a good idea. Dibs on the racecar.”

                Will laced their fingers together and squeezed his hand tight. He sighed dramatically. “I guess—but I get to be the top hat.”

                Nico squeezed back. Once, twice, three times. _I love you._ “Deal.”

**Author's Note:**

> Hi!! I'm back and I needed to write a thing before I got back to my other unfinished works. Hope you guys liked it.


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